Syria at war

January 7, 2013

Syrian rebels

said on June 21 they have received new weapons from friendly countries that

could lead to changes on the ground and victories against President Bashar Assad's forces. The civil war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than four million and turned neighbor against neighbor, with civilians

paying the price. (Reuters)

This image made from amateur video released by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian rebel firing his weapon in Damascus, Syria, Friday, June 21, 2013. The commander of Syria's rebels confirms they have received new weapons, giving his forces more power in battles against government troops and Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. Gen. Salim Idris refused to say in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Friday where the weapons came from. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image made from amateur video released by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian rebel firing his weapon in Damascus, Syria, Friday, June 21, 2013. The commander of Syria's rebels confirms they have received new weapons, giving his forces more power in battles against government troops and Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. Gen. Salim Idris refused to say in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Friday where the weapons came from. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image taken from video obtained from Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels preparing to fire a rocket at Mannagh air base in Aleppo province, Syria, Monday, May 13, 2013. The Syrian government wants more details before deciding whether to take part in a proposed U.S.-Russian initiative to negotiate a peaceful end to Syria's crisis, the country's information minister said, staking out a similar position to the main opposition group.(AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image taken from video obtained from Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels preparing to fire a rocket at Mannagh air base in Aleppo province, Syria, Monday, May 13, 2013. The Syrian government wants more details before deciding whether to take part in a proposed U.S.-Russian initiative to negotiate a peaceful end to Syria's crisis, the country's information minister said, staking out a similar position to the main opposition group.(AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image made from amateur video released by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows smoke rises in Damascus, Syria, Friday, June 21, 2013. The commander of Syria's rebels confirms they have received new weapons, giving his forces more power in battles against government troops and Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. Gen. Salim Idris refused to say in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Friday where the weapons came from. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image made from amateur video released by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows smoke rises in Damascus, Syria, Friday, June 21, 2013. The commander of Syria's rebels confirms they have received new weapons, giving his forces more power in battles against government troops and Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. Gen. Salim Idris refused to say in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Friday where the weapons came from. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

FILE - In this Tuesday March 19, 2013 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian victim who suffered an alleged chemical attack at Khan al-Assal village according to SANA, receives treatment by doctors, at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria. The purported instances in which chemical weapons have been used in Syria have been relatively small in scale: nothing along the lines of Saddam Hussein's 1988 attack in Kurdish Iraq. That raises the question of who would stand to gain as President Bashar Assad's regime and the opposition trade blame for the alleged attacks and definitive proof remains elusive. Analysts say the answer could lie in the past the regime has a pattern of gradually introducing a weapon to the conflict to test the international community's response. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday March 19, 2013 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian victim who suffered an alleged chemical attack at Khan al-Assal village according to SANA, receives treatment by doctors, at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria. The purported instances in which chemical weapons have been used in Syria have been relatively small in scale: nothing along the lines of Saddam Hussein's 1988 attack in Kurdish Iraq. That raises the question of who would stand to gain as President Bashar Assad's regime and the opposition trade blame for the alleged attacks and definitive proof remains elusive. Analysts say the answer could lie in the past the regime has a pattern of gradually introducing a weapon to the conflict to test the international community's response. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday March 19, 2013 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian victim who suffered an alleged chemical attack at Khan al-Assal village according to SANA, receives treatment by doctors, at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria. A U.N. report on Syria said Tuesday there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that limited quantities of toxic chemicals have been used as weapons in at least four attacks in Syria’s civil war, but said more evidence is needed to determine the precise chemical agents used or who used them. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday March 19, 2013 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian victim who suffered an alleged chemical attack at Khan al-Assal village according to SANA, receives treatment by doctors, at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria. A U.N. report on Syria said Tuesday there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that limited quantities of toxic chemicals have been used as weapons in at least four attacks in Syria’s civil war, but said more evidence is needed to determine the precise chemical agents used or who used them. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, damaged buildings wrecked by an Israeli airstrike are seen in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, May 5, 2013. Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital early Sunday, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, officials and activists said. The attack, the second in three days, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's bloody civil war. Syria's state media reported that Israeli missiles struck a military and scientific research center near the Syrian capital and caused casualties. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, damaged buildings wrecked by an Israeli airstrike are seen in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, May 5, 2013. Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital early Sunday, setting off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, officials and activists said. The attack, the second in three days, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's bloody civil war. Syria's state media reported that Israeli missiles struck a military and scientific research center near the Syrian capital and caused casualties. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian firefighters extinguish a burning car, at the scene of a powerful explosion which occurred in the central district of Marjeh, Damascus, Syria, Tuesday April 30, 2013. A powerful explosion rocked Damascus on Tuesday, causing scores of casualties, a day after the country's prime minister narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in the heart of the heavily protected capital. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian firefighters extinguish a burning car, at the scene of a powerful explosion which occurred in the central district of Marjeh, Damascus, Syria, Tuesday April 30, 2013. A powerful explosion rocked Damascus on Tuesday, causing scores of casualties, a day after the country's prime minister narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in the heart of the heavily protected capital. (AP Photo/SANA)

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 13, 2013 photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian doctors treat a man who was wounded at the scene where two mortar rounds exploded near an orphanage, at al-Boukhtyar area, in Damascus, Syria. More than 6,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war in March alone, according to a leading activist group that reported it was the deadliest month yet in the 2-year-old conflict. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 13, 2013 photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian doctors treat a man who was wounded at the scene where two mortar rounds exploded near an orphanage, at al-Boukhtyar area, in Damascus, Syria. More than 6,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war in March alone, according to a leading activist group that reported it was the deadliest month yet in the 2-year-old conflict. (AP Photo/SANA, File)

This citizen journalism image taken on, Sunday, March. 10, 2013 and provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians standing next to dead bodies that have been pulled from the river near Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood, Syria. Activists said the dead bodies of at least 20 men were pulled from a river that runs between regime- and rebel-controlled parts of the northern city. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

This citizen journalism image taken on, Sunday, March. 10, 2013 and provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians standing next to dead bodies that have been pulled from the river near Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood, Syria. Activists said the dead bodies of at least 20 men were pulled from a river that runs between regime- and rebel-controlled parts of the northern city. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

In this Tuesday March 19, 2013, citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, black smoke rise from buildings due to government forces shelling, in Aleppo, Syria. Syria's main opposition group demanded Wednesday a full international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in the country's north, calling for a team to be sent to the village where it reportedly occurred. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC)

In this Tuesday March 19, 2013, citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, black smoke rise from buildings due to government forces shelling, in Aleppo, Syria. Syria's main opposition group demanded Wednesday a full international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack in the country's north, calling for a team to be sent to the village where it reportedly occurred. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC)

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, and released Monday March 18, 2013, Syrian government forces fire rockets toward residential neighborhoods, in Damascus, Syria. Two years after the anti-Assad uprising began, the conflict has become a civil war, with hundreds of rebel group fighting Assad's forces across Syria and millions of people pushed from their homes by the violence. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, and released Monday March 18, 2013, Syrian government forces fire rockets toward residential neighborhoods, in Damascus, Syria. Two years after the anti-Assad uprising began, the conflict has become a civil war, with hundreds of rebel group fighting Assad's forces across Syria and millions of people pushed from their homes by the violence. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian firefighter extinguishes a burned car at the scene where two mortar rounds exploded near an orphanage, at al-Boukhtyar area, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, March 13, 2013. The state-run SANA news agency said two mortar rounds exploded near an orphanage in al-Boukhtyar area, killing and wounding an unknown number of people. Syrian government troops fought fierce battles with rebels on Wednesday for control of key neighborhoods in the north of Damascus, residents and activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian firefighter extinguishes a burned car at the scene where two mortar rounds exploded near an orphanage, at al-Boukhtyar area, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, March 13, 2013. The state-run SANA news agency said two mortar rounds exploded near an orphanage in al-Boukhtyar area, killing and wounding an unknown number of people. Syrian government troops fought fierce battles with rebels on Wednesday for control of key neighborhoods in the north of Damascus, residents and activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base of Wadi al-Deif, at the front line of Maarat al-Nuaman town, in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. Syrian rebels battled government troops near a landmark 12th century mosque in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, while fierce clashes raged around a police academy west of the city, activists said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base of Wadi al-Deif, at the front line of Maarat al-Nuaman town, in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. Syrian rebels battled government troops near a landmark 12th century mosque in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, while fierce clashes raged around a police academy west of the city, activists said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

FILE - An apartment destroyed by tank shelling is seen in a building in the Karm al-Jabel neighborhood after several days of intense clashes between rebel fighters and the Syrian army in Aleppo, Syria, Oct. 28, 2012. This image was one in a series of 20 by AP photographers that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - An apartment destroyed by tank shelling is seen in a building in the Karm al-Jabel neighborhood after several days of intense clashes between rebel fighters and the Syrian army in Aleppo, Syria, Oct. 28, 2012. This image was one in a series of 20 by AP photographers that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - A Syrian man wheels a severely injured woman to a hospital for treatment after an artillery shell landed near a bakery in Aleppo, Syria, Oct. 23, 2012. This image was one in a series of 20 by AP photographers that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - A Syrian man wheels a severely injured woman to a hospital for treatment after an artillery shell landed near a bakery in Aleppo, Syria, Oct. 23, 2012. This image was one in a series of 20 by AP photographers that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - A wounded woman still in shock leaves Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria, Sept. 20, 2012. Dozens of Syrian civilians were killed, four children among them, in artillery shelling by Syrian government forces in the northern Syrian town. This image was one in a series of 20 by AP photographers that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

FILE - A wounded woman still in shock leaves Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria, Sept. 20, 2012. Dozens of Syrian civilians were killed, four children among them, in artillery shelling by Syrian government forces in the northern Syrian town. This image was one in a series of 20 by AP photographers that won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

FILE - Ahmed, center, mourns his father Abdulaziz Abu Ahmed Khrer, who was killed by a Syrian Army sniper, during his funeral in Idlib, north Syria, Thursday, March 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)

FILE - Ahmed, center, mourns his father Abdulaziz Abu Ahmed Khrer, who was killed by a Syrian Army sniper, during his funeral in Idlib, north Syria, Thursday, March 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)

FILE - Bullet holes are seen in a window in Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Clashes between pro- and anti-Syria gunmen in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli left two people dead and 12 wounded in the latest skirmish between Lebanese factions over the crisis in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - Bullet holes are seen in a window in Tripoli, Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Clashes between pro- and anti-Syria gunmen in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli left two people dead and 12 wounded in the latest skirmish between Lebanese factions over the crisis in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

FILE - A Syrian man holds bullets he picked from the wall of a damaged house in the town of Atareb, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

FILE - A Syrian man holds bullets he picked from the wall of a damaged house in the town of Atareb, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

FILE - A Syrian man reacts next to his brother, who was seriously wounded during a violence between security forces and armed groups in Latakia, northwest of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, March 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - A Syrian man reacts next to his brother, who was seriously wounded during a violence between security forces and armed groups in Latakia, northwest of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, March 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

FILE - A Free Syrian Army fighter runs after attacking a tank with a rocket-propelled grenade during fighting in the Izaa district in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Sept 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

FILE - A Free Syrian Army fighter runs after attacking a tank with a rocket-propelled grenade during fighting in the Izaa district in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Sept 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo, File)

FILE - Syrian rebel fighters belonging to the Liwa Al Tawhid unit pose for photo in the Karmal Jabl neighborhood after several days of intense clashes between rebel fighters and the Syrian army in Aleppo, Syria on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - Syrian rebel fighters belonging to the Liwa Al Tawhid unit pose for photo in the Karmal Jabl neighborhood after several days of intense clashes between rebel fighters and the Syrian army in Aleppo, Syria on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - A rebel sniper aims at a Syrian army position, seen with another rebel fighter reflected in a mirror, in a residential building in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)

FILE - A rebel sniper aims at a Syrian army position, seen with another rebel fighter reflected in a mirror, in a residential building in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras, File)